Frequently Asked Questions
The Center for Whole Psychiatry + Brain Recovery is an approach to psychiatric problems that strives to get to root causes of illness. We do this by looking at all the things standard psychiatry looks at, but ALSO looking at hormones, nutrition, the gastrointestinal tract, the immune system, genetics, epigenetics, detoxification pathways, mitochondrial function, so that less medication can be used, and psychiatric symptoms cleared, while at the same time improving overall health, vitality, and performance.
This simple answer?
How long do you think it would it take for 7 different doctors (a psychiatrist, an immunologist, an endocrinologist, a neurologist, a gastroenterologist, a nutritionist, a toxicologist, a sleep specialist) and a biochemist to thoroughly evaluate you, each in their own specialty? Probably a lot longer than 3 and ½ hours! Patients often say “It’s like going to the Mayo Clinic, only better, because all that information is in one doctor!”
The deeper answer:
Over the course of 4 decades in medicine, Dr. Hedaya has learned that most medical sub-specialists are excellent at dealing with ‘train-wrecks’ (e.g., Graves Disease or pneumonia) but wholly inadequate when it comes to recognizing and treating the more subtle areas of dysfunction, which contribute to and cause all manner of chronic illnesses. Because his patients needed help from these subspecialists, but none was forthcoming, Dr. Hedaya took it on himself to learn what he needed to so that he could give people the help they needed. Since the people seeking Dr. Hedaya’s help want to get to the root causes of their problems, Dr. Hedaya believes that a genuine evaluation cannot be partial. It must include a careful and thoughtful assessment of all of the above-mentioned fields of medicine.
We spend all our clinical hours providing direct high quality patient care. We can only do this by eliminating a layer of administration that comes with insurance billing. Our office does not accept insurance and does not participate in Medicare or Medicaid plans.
Dr. Hedaya is a Psychiatrist who is Board Certified by The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.He has been certified by the American Board of Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology as having demonstrated proficiency in Psychopharmacology. He is on the faculty and certified in Functional Medicine by the Institute of Functional Medicine and has taken advanced post-degree training in endocrinology, orthomolecular psychiatry, family systems therapy, and hypnotherapy.
It can be as short as a week but usually 3 months of strictly adhering to your individual program. Some of this depends on the severity of the problem and in those cases, it is not uncommon to take 12-18 months to see a full benefit.
Dr. Hedaya is certified in psychopharmacology and will prescribe medications when necessary. In addition, he will prescribe supplements, vitamins, hormones, diet, lifestyle changes, etc.
The initial evaluation is between 4 – 5 hours. It is a comprehensive interview, record review, and partial physical exam. We recommend patients bring a loved one who can contribute their observations to the interview process.
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Dr. Hedaya believes in uncovering, whenever possible, the causes or contributors to neuropsychiatric and prefers to treat these causes rather than the symptoms. Interventions at a variety of levels of dysfunction (e.g. lifestyle, thinking patterns, hormones, diet, allergy) results in significantly improved outcome over the standard therapy and/or medication approach.
Dr. Hedaya usually refers patients to competent therapists, unless he feels that a particular patient is best served by all the treatment being under his direct care.
Dr. Hedaya evaluates the spiritual, psychosocial, neurological, immunological, environmental, hormonal, nutritional, gastrointestinal, and liver function as they relate to psychiatric disorders. In addition, a comprehensive personal, family medical and psychiatric history, mental status, and partial physical exam are done. All of this is geared toward diagnosing the source of the problem (as opposed to putting a label on it), and outlining further areas of investigation before a comprehensive, personalized treatment approach is outlined.
Appointments vary in length, depending upon what is needed, from 30 minutes to 90 minutes.
After the evaluation, Dr. Hedaya’s decides what tests would be beneficial to aid in diagnosis and formulation of an effective treatment plan. About 30% of the tests can be done at a laboratory designated by your insurance company. There are specialty tests that must be done in the office (tests that we send to specific laboratories around the country). At times, brain wave testing (EEG), brain scans, or sleep studies are ordered, as well as consultations with other specialists when necessary.